Beauty and the Beast
by iEXIST
Summary: There's a fine line between attraction and obsession. AlicexMasquerade (on hiatus)
1. Luring Fire

**Summary:**** There is a fine line between attraction and obsession.**

**.****Beauty and the Beast****.**

**1 **

Ah, he remembered this room all too clearly. They had brought him in here just one too many times. It was getting boring. He got bored easily, especially with people. If he saw the same face more than three times, he made sure never to see it again. This room needed redecorating, really it did. The white was getting painful to his eyes. It seemed to glare at him from every possible angle and corner. This whole damn building needed redecorating! The white was all over the place and it was so irritating, it made him mad sometimes.

Often he took it upon himself to recolour the walls but that just made the guards and doctors angry. They got irked at why he bashed someone else's head just so he could paint the walls red. Well, if they cared that much about the madcaps living here then they should've provided him with paint instead of telling him not to decapitate the other patients.

But they never took him seriously. They were always more interested in what he had to say about himself and others compared to what he thought about the colour of the interrogation room, or that's what he called it. They called it something like the _psychiatrist room _or _ward _or something. He didn't care. He hadn't been brought here for around a whole year now. Last time they brought him here he had pulled out the eyes of the person sitting opposite him. 'Why?' They had asked him later, 'Why did you do that?' His reply had been simple. 'That's the fourth time I saw his face. It was boring. So I remodeled it. Doesn't he look interesting without eyes? Now everyone will double check his face.' He ended up laughing and no one was too pleased with him.

They were such boring people. They didn't even get his jokes.

The guard tied a belt around him so he wouldn't be able to get off the chair. His hands were secured behind him because he was wearing a straightjacket. Even the damn jacket was white. But he liked the belt, it wasn't painful white, it was leather brown. He noticed there were two chairs across the table instead of the usual one, so his head remained cool. The room looked different because of the presence of an extra chair. Really, it did.

The people who came in this time were different too. One was dressed in black from head to toe. He liked the stranger already. His favourite colour was black. The second was wearing a white lab coat but at least he was wearing different colours underneath. Both strangers took the spare chairs.

"We'll cut straight to the point." Black dressed man said.

He smiled. "Please do."

"I'm afraid a serious case has been registered against you." Oh, what else was new? Were they now going to coin a new term for him? Bloodophilic, maybe? All he wanted was for them to redecorate the rooms and they went to court.

"The doctors believe that everything you do is … intentional." The second man began. Oh, how old and frail he looked. Those people broke so easily under his hands. "My name is Michael Gehabich and please don't mind, I've been observing you for a while now."

"Really?" His smile never faltered. He could read their faces so easily. "Am I going to be hanged?"

The two men exchanged looks. "You see," The black dressed began "that's what the case against you is. Your intelligence is just too high for someone with mental problems or a psychological disorder. Even physically you are very … err, it is believed that keeping you here further is very risky. Um … that having you under study is unsafe as well."

"So, I **am** getting hanged."

"Maybe."

"When?"

"… Tomorrow."

The old man looked like he wanted to say something but stopped at the last minute.

"Well, if you people are going to get me killed than let me see the stars today." Both men looked shocked. "I haven't seen the sky ever since I've been brought back." He could see they were getting a bit nervous. "You're a lawyer aren't you?" He looked at the black dressed man. "I think I have that much of right."

The man sighed. "I think we can arrange that."

Alice felt a bit nervous. She didn't know why her grandfather had taken up a job in an asylum of all places! He used to be a scientist so she was pretty sure he would be doing some research after his retirement but he opted to join some faculty for mentally off people. The girl sighed. She had a feeling she shouldn't have joined her grandfather today, on his first official day here, but she had sort of wanted to, never having been to an asylum before. It had been a bad choice. The place made you feel chills up your spine.

She heard the door open and turned around just as a strong wind whipped her hair again. Her attention was now fully on the built man in the building's uniform and a young patient who was tied up in a straight jacket. Only God knows why, there was also a bag around the patient's head. The guard slowly removed it and heavy locks of fair blond fell down, concealing half the patient's face. Despite the shaggy bangs covering his eyes, the male still seemed to be able to see her and turned his head towards her. It was then the guard noticed her.

Purely out of her grooming, she stiffened up and instantly waved her hand. "uh-heh, hello! Good Evenin-night! How do you do?"

The lack of light made it vague but she was sure the tied up male had smiled. A strong wind came again and when his hair swayed she hoped to catch a glimpse of his eyes. He turned his face away just at the perfect moment.

A bit embarrassed that no one had responded to her greeting, she turned her attention back to the ground below again. The other two seemed to be staring at the sky. She secretly glanced up, wondering if something was different up there, even peeking at the two strangers before turning her attention down again.

The busy road below sounded very mute from this height. The headlights on cars and added effect of the lights from buildings and other sources summed quite a bit of enchantment to her view. Cities always appeared beautiful at night, particularly busy roads.

The girl suddenly felt a chill run up her spine. Well, she was standing on top an institute for mentally handicapped so maybe it was kind of natural to feel out of normality. Her mind suddenly wondered if anyone had jumped off this exact place like people did in the movies. It was chilling just thinking about it in a place as such. A burst of laughter suddenly had her attention. She turned her head to the blond male who was laughing like an obsessed person – a person obsessed by madness.

That was it.

She had enough.

He heard her heeled shoes tapping as she walked away and the light clang of metal as she closed the door behind her. Even after they were separated by the door, he could hear the sound of her shoes as she stepped down the stairs, but the sound faded away fast. He was surprised he could hear her rapid breathing over his laugh. He was surprised he could hear her movements at all over his laugh. That was very unusual. He considered himself the most important living person on the planet so someone other than himself catching his attention was unusually rare.

He hoped he could see her again - the girl with hair the colour of fire. He could see her hair even through the head bag they put on him.

Getting back on topic now, the stupid building who's white colour had been bothering him ever since his ass had been dragged in here.

'_Fire.'_

His laugh slowly died down.

He felt stiff for a second before slouching rather lazily. He could feel his breathing getting rapid.

'_Fire.'_

"Hey?" Even the guard noticed. "Are you ok?"

"Fire." He turned around to face the taller man, a teasing smile plastered on his face which went strangely with his flushed face and feverish breathing. The young male only tilted his head a bit, hair brushing off his eyes, and the guard wasn't staring back at a human's face anymore.

"What the f-"

She had been waiting for him for half an hour now and damn she was getting irritated. He kept saying 'Just a moment, just a moment love' and he had yet to come out. The driver was smoking outside almost as if he knew her grandfather would take his sweet time as he made her wait in the car. Just as she stepped out with a resolve to cancel making dinner for the next week –perfect punishment in her opinion- he came out laughing. What was so humorous inside an asylum? God knew. She frowned at him but was glad they could finally be on their way home.

Home wasn't very homey either. Alice had moved in with her grandfather because she had been accepted into a prestigious institute in his city and her parents didn't really want her admitted in a hostel. Her grandfather lived above the ground floor in a moderate apartment. She didn't touch most of his things because they were related to one of his many projects and he would get upset if she moved them. Her hands were limited to her own room and the kitchen. Even the living room was overflowing with documents stacked in every usuable spot, even the floor.

The girl sighed as she flicked on the light and cast a tired look at her grandparent.

"I would really like to see the floor board one day." She taunted lightly, hoping against hope that maybe he would take her seriously this time and remove the collection of paper from the living room at least.

"Don't worry, I'll clean it up soon. The documents are perfectly safe anyway." That meant no-never-seeing-the-floor-in-this-lifetime. He seemed to be rather distracted though. She wondered if he had adopted another research project. Seriously, old age wasn't going to kill him, it would either be overworking or stress.

"Do you want me to heat something for you?" Because she sure was hungry. "Macaroni? Potato dish?"

"Uh, what? Not-no. I've had a sandwich."

'_Like that's going to help him get through the night. He never takes care of himself. How did he survive this far without grandmother?'_

"I'm going to set the table, okay grandfather Michael?"

"Sure. Sure, sure."

Why did she bother setting the table for both of them, he never came to eat with her anyway. She always had to reheat his food and then take it to his study. He still wouldn't notice it until she came a third or fourth time and sat by him so he would eat the than cold food. And he only did that so she would leave and he could get back to work again. _Workaholic_. There was more formality between them than any sort of love. But there were small moments out of the usual that she cherished. For instance, he would talk to her about any new project he started to see if she got interested and today he took her to … okay that wasn't a very jolly trip but she had an idea that his new work was different from his previous science related ones. There was the time they went to the zoo …

As per routine she waited for him. Called him. Ate her share. Called him again. Waited some more. Reheated his plate and took it in his study, after knocking and asking for entry of course. Then she washed the small amount of dishes. Checked if there was any need to go shopping for groceries. Checked up on him to find him nose deep in work. Told him to finish his plate and he promised to. She left. She came back again and forced him to eat and then took the plate to wash. After mulling over her miserable home life, or rather the lack of it, she retreated to her room.

Compared to the rest of the house her room was neat and she had made sure to give a feminine touch to it. All her books were stacked neatly in the small shelf which also held other random things like her jewellery box, stationary and some stuffed toys.

The girl went straight to the bathroom to change into her night dress. It was only when she came to brush her teeth was when she noticed the marble sink tainted with blood. The knob –probably touched by a bloody hand- and the sink coloured with the dark liquid that seemed to glisten under the harsh light, specifically as if the light was reflecting off the tiles just to make the blood appear brighter. Her nostrils were suddenly attacked with its metallic scent.

Why hadn't she noticed something so obvious before?

Alice wasn't fond of blood to begin with. Even during her periods she felt lethargic and weak and relief washed over her like heavenly breeze when the monthly cycle ended. The sight and smell of blood disturbed her.

So it was no surprise when her stomach gave up and all its undigested contents came back out.

She rushed out of the bathroom and towards the kitchen, quickly rinsing her mouth and washing her face a few times to try and rid herself of the shock.

How did blood get there? Did a burglar come in and injure himself? That seemed most likely. Well, there was nothing much for him to steal anyway, except Michael's research, which in her opinion was unimportant, at least to her. He probably won't notice it gone either.

"Grandfather Michael!" She knocked on his study after recovering herself. "Grandfather Michael!" When he didn't reply she went in herself and found the room empty. Alice quickly rushed to the front door and sure enough found a sticky note there.

'Emergency at work'

'_Work? What work? You're retired! And going out at this hour!' _

This had happened before but most of the time when she'd viewed the note he would already be home but would only have forgotten to take it back off. This was one of the rare times when she saw his note when she was meant to.

She probably shouldn't worry him with the problem in her bathroom. She would report it when he came back and they'd call the police over and whatever comes from there. But knowing that there was blood in her bathroom bothered her and before she knew it she had wrapped a scarf around her face and was cleaning her bathroom sink with more vigour than necessary. When she unwrapped the scarf the scent of alkali greeted her and relief instantly washed over her. She inspected it once more for any remaining trace of blood and finally brushed her teeth.

Her heart however, wasn't able to slow down its pounding.

She could only guess that the shock hadn't completely washed off. Oh how wrong she was to ignore a sixth sense.

As she was rinsing her mouth her eyes fell on her reflection in the mirror and the water came spitting out of her mouth with unneeded force as she saw someone she wasn't supposed to be seeing seated on her bed, watching her. Upon turning around, she actually found him there and not just as a figment of her imagination.

Somewhere at the back of her mind something was tugging a string but she couldn't put her finger on it. She had a feeling she had seen this blond masked male somewhere before but she just couldn't remember exactly where. A Halloween party maybe? Just for a second her eyes drifted to the bandages on his arm before they were locked on his glass mask again.

When he opened his mouth his voice was hoarse but there was an edge and maturity to it. And even though he was simply speaking, every word seemed to be spoken as a threat, as if his voice naturally carried the aura of inflicting fear.

"My goddess does not like the scent of my blood?"

He stood up and his smile rang alarm bells in her head. She knew she had seen it. _'But where!' _She desperately tried to remember who he was and where she had met him. Was he one of the rejects at school? Her thoughts were suddenly overwhelming her when she realized that if she called for help, no one would respond because no one would hear her, especially from her bathroom. Grandfather had picked the worst possible time to leave.

The stranger was taller, appeared stronger, older and for some reason the uncomfortable twisting and churning in her gut felt as if it was a warning that she was standing against someone experienced and confident of what he did, which could not be good if he was here like this.

"You look rather beautiful with such a petrified face." He chuckled.

And she knew she was trapped with a lunatic. A mad man.

God save her.

**.End.**

**Well, I got a request to do another fic for Alice and Masquerade and this idea had been in my mind for a while so I thought it was a good opportunity x_x**

**However this fiction won't have the innocence of 'Alice in Wonderland', nor its charm –if it even had any- but I'm sure it's attractive in a different (read sadistic) way. I don't know if I'm going to continue this. I have a few things in my mind that I want to type away and see what happens so I might drop it after a while. Actually it will really depend on the kind of feedback I get for it. I have grown up after 'Alice in Wonderland' so I beg you ex-readers of that fic, FORGIVE ME! This fiction will be standing on a completely different level than that one .**

**But I sincerely hope you will enjoy it. Just stick with the horror for a while and the romance will bloom in its time _-_ (upside down) I honestly hope you enjoy 'Beauty and the Beast' too because I think I'm going to have more fun on it than my previous Bakugan fic because this one is more mature XD**

**Gehehehe, after writing him in such a role I feel as if a psycho role really suits him. OOC man, OOC. xp**

**I would like to know what the readers think of this version of Masquerade? XD**

**P.S. Just so everyone knows in advance, I want to keep 'supernatural' in the genre. If anyone feels otherwise they should let me know. If I add supernatural and the story turns crap than **_**ya'll better not be complainin'! haar!**_

**Constructive criticism is appreciated. Please be kind and let me know your views on my madness. ^^**


	2. The Unknown

**Summary: There is a fine line between attraction and obsession.**

**.Beauty and the Beast.**

**2**

_"You look rather beautiful with such a petrified face." He chuckled._

_And she knew she was trapped with a lunatic. A mad man._

_God save her._

He advanced forward, gradually standing in the frame of the bathroom door. For a while he seemed to be contended just standing there … watching. His smile did not carry a charm, it carried peril. His hair heavily fell before his face which was covered by a glass mask. His injured arm hung limply by his side, bandaged and bloodied.

He took one step forward and officially entered her bathroom. She took one step back and hit the sink, all her movements immensely restricted. Her eyes kept trailing to the blood that was oozing out of his bandage and dripping to the floor in intervals. It was torture. On the tiled floor of the bathroom, in the death silence of the moment she could hear every drop hit the floor when her own rapid breathing did not cover it. The coppery smell she had just cleared and replaced a while ago with detergents was returning with a vengeance. Her weak insides started churning again.

"By Satan…" he murmured under his breath. "How different you look up close!" He exclaimed with immense pleasure. "Or it could just be that you're feeling unwell." She was right. The male was a lunatic. His smile diminished in just an instant. "It is quite antagonizing for me when I praise you and you degrade me, pretty little goddess." The word rolled off his tongue like a tease.

The frightened girl slapped a hand over her face, covering her nose and mouth to the keep the scent of blood from making her further sick. Her brain was going haywire trying to identify the intruder. She was certain she had never come across him in her life before. She just never knew anyone who talked in such a slow, threatening and disturbing manner.

It felt like someone had suddenly crashed a heavy weight against her skull. _'He's a criminal … I'm going to die.' _

He tilted his head. The smile continued to be absent. He was disappointed. They had met, not a few hours ago and she had forgotten him. He had felt alive again. He had felt thrilled and excited, he just knew he was immensely going to enjoy her … but she didn't even respond to him. Fear was the normal response to him. Yes, she answered to his actions with fear but he didn't come for that. He could eat that feeling from anyone walking the side path. He wanted something new, he wanted that emotion, that expression which had made him insane for that brief moment she had met him. For that brief moment she had made him believe … he wanted more of it.

His steps were loud in the small bathroom as he moved closer to her. He did everything so suddenly it gave her minimum time to react.

One moment Alice was watching him get nearer, in the next his hands were clamped around her jaws and he pulled her face forward and upward to meet his height. She was kept balancing on her tiptoes. Alice was leveled with his face but could only see her terrified expression crying back at her.

'_Crying?'_

When did the tears start falling? She was unaware. The only thing she could feel was how his tightly his hands were pressing against her face. If he only applied a bit more force in the upward direction she was sure her head would detach from her spine and rest in his hands like a trophy. The corner of his lips twitched upward.

"Tell me why I shouldn't execute you right now." He whispered but he could be screaming inside her head for all she cared because that is exactly how she heard him. Her mouth opened but nothing came out. Her lower lips trembled. She didn't know what to say to get him off her. "Do you want to live?" She wanted to nod 'yes' but his hands would not let her. Instead he shook her head from side to side. "No?" He said it so mockingly she was certain she didn't have many more minutes to count. Her tears came out more heavily and a whimper escaped her. "Its fine, I will still give you a chance." He was playing God with her. "Sing one beautiful word to me and everything will conclude itself."

He was so certain of himself. He inched his face closer to hers to press her lips to his ear. "Mhm? I'm waiting." He chirped. She didn't answer. "Take your time to think, I have plenty myself." He was going through her head. It was so easy to read he felt like he was running through an open field. It was so hard to repress his laughter. He could never keep himself from laughing during such situations. But he had to this time, he wanted to. He wanted this time to be different, to feel different. So he was going to do something different to, hopefully, evoke a different response. He had a feeling she was different. But if she bored him she would, unfortunately, meet the fate of her predecessors and he would take his reaction as a onetime thing, and a mistake from his part. After all, small things from the ordinary caught his attention easily because most of his life in that white hell had been monotonously white and boring.

He did not expect his for his breath to be clogged in his throat. He did not expect his fingers to loosen around her face. He did not expect his smile to drop at all. He was stunned.

"What?" He recovered himself and pulled her face away. She did not repeat it but he had heard it clearly the first time. He did not need her to repeat it. Her mouth opened and closed. She looked lost. It looked more like her heart was failing. She wasn't looking at him anymore, she was gazing at the ceiling. When her eyes did revert back to him, his mouth had adjusted into his crude smile again. He pressed his lips to her ear and she felt every motion with every word of his. "Did you say _fire_?"

Fire. The word that drew her to him in the first place. That was what he had felt surging through him when she made her impression. That was what he wanted to move through him again.

"Please …" The words barely reached him, he was so absorbed in his own world. He did not notice her tiny hands that had started to push against his chest. "… No …" She breathed and her hands applied more pressure. He was so lost in own head he barely felt her kick him. He did not even feel her fits as she started struggling against him. "… Stop!" Her scream tore through his train of thoughts. He finally noticed her feeble attempts at escape.

When he had secured her against himself, he wasn't aware. When had his hand snuck under her top, he wasn't aware. When had she started struggling, he wasn't aware.

He just knew he felt warm flesh under his palm. He only knew that the curve of her back fitted perfectly and comfortably against his palm. He just knew he had lost himself in her presence.

"How soft and inviting." He mumbled and retreated his hand so to hold her against him more tightly. "But how frail and vulnerable." Tragic it was. How many other men had she lured towards herself? How many others could come and do as they please without poor little Alice having a choice in it? He didn't really care what anyone did to anyone. All that mattered to him were himself and his interests. For the last time that night, he leaned down and whispered to her. "Do you know my name?"

Alice had stopped protesting the moment his arms had engulfed her, but her tense muscles and her vexed mind said otherwise. His eyes were closed and he didn't really need them to feel her head shaking against his chest.

"Masquerade." He said. "Memorize it." It was an order.

Though his tone had been commanding, somehow his words didn't seem as intimidating anymore. That didn't put him in her good books so soon. She was still scared as hell. His arms around her had been unbearably cold, so had been his fingers on her face and his breath against her ear. His air was still menacing. She had a feeling that one wrong move could relocate her to her grave.

"Do you know my name?" He repeated his previous question. This time there was no physical response from her.

"Masquerade." Alice replied. She was breathless. The name was obviously a fake. It made no sense to her. But one thing kept gnawing at her and it didn't help her relax at her. The thought that she could get raped in her own house, in her own room never left her. She wasn't unaware of criminal psychology. She knew how serial criminals left signatures to show their presence, to mark their work. She didn't want to be a victim. Not at this stage, not when life had barely opened up to her.

"Say it again." He said.

"Masquerade." Her tears rolled down freshly. She knew it was coming. She felt it.

"Good work, my goddess." He pulled away from her. Her shoulders were shaking and her tears dropped off her face onto her feet. She could stop gasping and whimpering no matter how hard she tried. She just didn't know how to deal with this type of fear. "You've gone unnaturally pale, and so cold too." Masquerade cupped her cheeks, and this time his hands were a bit warmer. He wiped away her tears with his thumb but others replaced them. "Go to bed." He retracted his hands and went back into his position at the door frame. "Good night, _Alice._" It still wasn't a comforting smile.

She watched him. The street light pouring in from her window flickered. In one instant he was there, and when he tilted his head, tilted his smile, the light went and came to show him gone.

The girl knew she would be having nightmares for the rest of her life.

That experience shook the foundation of everything Alice believed in. God, religion, the supernatural, nothing was a part of her life, nothing took any part in the smallest sense of her being. She made tiny references about one thing or another not because she believed in their existence, but because she had grown accustomed to their use around her. But everything changed that night. It felt like the ground had been pulled from beneath her feet. And not walking on something solid did not feel good at all.

She stood in her bathroom for what felt like ages. She was afraid if she moved out he would reappear. The street light was flooding her room like normal. There was no trace of him in sight and she couldn't feel his ominous presence either. The only thing it did was stop her tears, not her rapid beating heart.

Alice turned around and saw her reflection in the mirror. One side of her face was patched with blood. Dark red blood. It almost appeared black. She didn't want to touch it. She didn't want to scrub it off herself. It felt like a disease on her. Strands of her hair had been dyed red. She also felt dried blood on her back. She felt ill. But she didn't throw up. How much she wanted to, she didn't.

Her entrance in to her room took place with extreme caution. She just knew he would spring out from behind the door, or behind the curtain .. maybe even from under the bed. But the window was locked and the door of her closets shut tight.

Still, she couldn't bring herself to lie down on her bed. She simply sat beside, watching it, expecting the … _creature_ … to appear on it. She didn't fall asleep for most of the night. Alice was unaware that sunlight was cascading through her curtains when her eyes finally dropped of exhaustion. Contrary to her belief, her dreams were blank.

**.End.**

**After the long wait, chapter 2! Thank you for the reviews and the support, I hope you guys tag along till the end! **

**P.S. What are your thoughts regarding Masquerade? :D**


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